Thompson, Alfred
(2011)
The Story Perspective - The Use of
Individual Life Narratives in Understanding
Development Effects and Processes.
Research and Perspectives on Development Practice, 10.
ISSN 2009-6976
Abstract
Life as lived is personal. There is no other way to
experience life except
from the perspective of and from inside the body, h
eart and mind of
a person. Development, and everything to do with de
velopment, is
also personal. And there is no other way to experie
nce development
except from the perspective of and from inside the
body, heart and
mind of a person. What I have called ‘the story per
spective’ draws on
the personal, lesh and blood, life as lived, indivi
dual stories of people’s
lives in development situations in order to see mor
e clearly the true
nature of development effects and processes. The un
ique combination
of emotional and rational knowledge contained withi
n life stories can
give us a broader perspective on the human face of
development, a
perspective that I believe is needed to compliment
and balance the
facts of ‘the measurement perspective’, and the ins
ights of ‘the theory
perspective’. This paper, which is based on a disse
rtation written for
the Kimmage Development Studies Centre, argues that
‘the story
perspective’ contributes an essential, and often ne
glected, human and
personal dimension to development work and debates.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Additional Information: |
Research and
Perspectives on Development Practice Series Paper No. 10 |
| Keywords: |
Individual Life Narratives; Understanding
Development; Effects and Processes; Kimmage Development Studies Centre; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > International Development |
| Item ID: |
9955 |
| Depositing User: |
IR Editor
|
| Date Deposited: |
18 Sep 2018 16:43 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Research and Perspectives on Development Practice |
| Publisher: |
Kimmage Development Studies Centre |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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